Timer



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A RNEY TIMER Filed May 7, 1925 INVENTORL Patented June 12, 1928.

CHARLES KNAPP, F SHERMAN, TEXAS.

TIMER.

Application fi led May 7,

This invention relates to timers and particularly to rotary timers of the type commonly employed in connection with the ignition systems of Ford antolnobiles.

The general object of the invention is to provide a constructionof timer in which the contact roller carrier bracket is mounted on its supporting bracket close to the timer shaft, leaving aclear field for the carrier bracket swing and for the annular travel of the roller and avoiding all liability of the roller and carrier bracket. coming in engage ment with two contacts at one time, and causing short circuiting and grounding of the current and burning of parts, and also to provide a novel construction and arrangement of the pressure spring whereby even and positive pressure of the contact points is ensured'and excessive vibration and hammering of the roller on the raceway and resultant pitting of the raceway prevented.

A further object of the invention is to provide a novel construction of supporting and roller carrier brackets and mode of connecting the same and mounting the pressure spring whereby a rotor construction is produced which is adapted to be manufactured and sold at a comparatively low cost.

The invention consists of the features of construction, combination and arrangement of parts, hereinafter fully described and claimed, reference bein had to the accompanying drawing, in w ich: 1

Figure 1 is a sectional elevation of my improved timer taken on line w-w of Figure 2.

Figure 2 is a section taken on line y z of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a perspective view of the sup porting bracket.

Figure 4 is a perspective view of the roller carrying bracket.

Figure 5 is a perspective vlew of the pressure spring.

Figure 6 is .a view of the blank from which the supporting bracket is made.

Figure 7 is a view of the blank from which the roller carrying bracket is made.

Referring now .more particularly to the drawing, 1 designates the timer casing, provided upon its interior with a ring 2 of insulating material, the inner surface of which forms an annular raceway, in which raceway are embedded the contacts 3 associated with the binding posts 4 to which the conductor terminals 5 are attached. The race way, of which the contacts 3 form a part,

1925. Serial No. 28,681.

is arranged concentric with the timer shaft 6, carrying the contact rotor constructed in accordance with my invention.

' The contact rotor comprises two members, to wit, a supporting bracket member 7 and a roller carrying bracket member 8. The member 7 is formed from the blank shown in F igure 6, the corresponding portions of the completed blank and member being designated by the same reference characters.

As shown,the bracket 7 comprises a sleeve portion 9, formed by rolling the body portion of the blank into cylindrical form, said sleeve portion being provided at one end with a pair of short arms 10 and an interven ng recess 11 and at its opposite end with a single central arm 12 bifurcated at its outer portion to form limbs 13 coiled to produce spaced eyes in the completed bracket. Shoulders 14 are formed at the opposite side of the body of the bracket at its point of ]UI1CU11B with the arm 12. In shaping the blank, which may be stamped out from sheet material of proper kind and thickness, the arm 12 is brought to engage the recess 11 and lie between the arms 10 with said arms 10 abutting against the shoulders 14, the arm 12 projecting beyond the periphery of the sleeve 9 at. a tangent thereto. By this construction the ends of the blank forming the sleeve are readily shaped and interlocked without additional fastening means, and the arm 12 and its eyes 13, which support the contact roller bracket 6, are reinforced by the interlocking connection so as to effectually withstand all the working strains fallmg thereon. The sleeve 9 is fittedupon the shaft 6 and provided with a notch 15 to receive a locking pin or key 16, whereby it is held from longitudinal displacement and from rotary motion thereons' As shown in the present instance, the pin or key 16 is held 1n position by a flanged washer 17 and nut 18 applied to theshaft. Formed in the sleeve 9 is an opening 19, the walls of which are suitably beveled, the purpose of which opening is hereinafter described.

The roller carrier bracket 8 also consists of a stamping made from the blank shown in Figure 7. This bracket comprises a pair of parallel side plates 20 having registering openings 21 and 22 at their opposite ends, the outer longitudinal edges of said plates 20 being joined by a transverse bridge piece 23, the body portion of the bracket, constructed as above described, being substa'm tially of H-shaped formation. The rear edge of the bridge piece 23' has extended therefrom a segmentally curved tongue 24 extending on an arc of curvature concentric with the openings 21. The openings 21, which form eyes at the rear ends of the plates 20, are arranged upon the outer sides of and in alinement with the eyes of the bracket 7 through which openings and eyes is passed a pin or shaft 25 pivotally coupling the rear end of the carrier bracket 8 to the tangentialarm 12 of the supporting bracket 7, whereby saidbracket 8 is'properly mounted for rotation with the shaft 6 and for pivotal movement between the shaft and the surface of the raceway. A contact roller-26, of good conducting material, is

' disposed between the forward ends of the plates and journaled for rotation upon a pin or shaft 27 received in the openings or eyes 22. The periphery of this roller runs in contact with the raceway and periodically engages the contacts 3, as will be readily understood. A coiled spring 28 encompasses the pivot pin orshaft between the eyes 13, and one end of this spring is arranged to bear upon and exert pressure I against the underside of the bridge piece 23,

while the other end of said spring is hooked over the outer edge of the arm 12 between the eyes 13, said spring thus operating to resist inward pivotal movement of the bracket 8 and roller 26 and to yieldingly force said bracket and roller outward to maintain the roller in contact with the su'r face of the raceway. The described construction of the brackets and'mode of mount- 1 ing the spring, provides a housing for the body portion of the spring and its compact arrangement, so that a spring of very small size maybe employed. The rear portion of this spring is surrounded by the tongue 24 which acts as a guard to prevent passage of foreign substances to the spring coil and causing clogging thereof, and the free end of this tongue serves as a stop to engage the arm 12' and thereby limit the outward move-' ment and bearing pressure ofthe' roller 26 further made very short, with the result that the pivoted end of the contact carrier bracket 8 willlie close to the sleeve and shaft, giving a free range of movement in the raceway channel to the free endof the carrier bracket and the contact roller and ensuring only that the roller itself will engage the contacts 3, thus avoiding any possibility of the -bracket itself engaging a contact and with the roller bridging adjacent contacts and causing grounding or short circuiting of the current, as frequently happens with timers or ordinary construction. The structural assemblage also ensures 'a compact arrangement of the'pivotally connected portions of the brackets'and enclosure of the spring so that it will .be protected to a maximum degree from damage orinjury. The opening 19, thewalls of which are beveled, is adaptedtoreceive the periphery of the roller 26, when the "latteris moved inwardly to a maximum "extent, thus allowing retraction of the carrier arm to a minimum degree and packing of the rotor in close'compass for storage or shipment. The construction described is of furtheradvantage in that sudden vibratory movements of the carrier arm and contact roller are prevented, thus ob- Viating ha'mmeringor slamming of the roll{ or on the surface of the raceway and the pitting thereof commonly "caused in the use of rotors-of ordinary construction;

Having thus fully described my invention, Iclaim:

lfIn a timei'fabr'acket for supporting .a' contact carrying bracket, said supporting bracket being unltarily formed from a stamping rolled to form a split sleeve, said sleeve having abutting edges, one of'the abuttingf ed'ges'being formed with a pair of short arcuate side armsand an intervening recess arranged within the line of its circumference, and the other abutting edge having side abutment shOuldersarranged within the line of its circumference and lying inabutting contact with said short arms, the latter named abutment edge also.

having a central arm extending-tangentially beyond the circumference of the sleeve through saidrecessbetween said short arms and lyingbetween the latter, the said'central arm being bifurcated and having the bifurcation, turned backwardly upon the outer face'of said arm and formed to provide spaced hinge knuckles.

' 2.111" a timer, a roller bracket carrying member comprising a pair of spaced,parallel longitudinal side plates having registering eye's at=the' opposite ends thereof, a bridge piece connecting the outer longitudinal edges of said plates, and a segme'ntally curved tongue extending from the bridge piece adjacentto and ona line between the eyes at one end of th'e'bra'cket member and lying on an arc concentric with said eyes as v 

